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February 28 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Gary Mokotoff & Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus: In conversation... 
And now for something a little different... introducing our Pioneers of Jewish Genealogy series, conversations with the folks who have dedicated their lives and their work to advancing the state of Jewish genealogy.
And what better way to kick off this series than with a conversation with Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus. You know them as the publisher and editor (respectively) of AVOTAYNU, The International Review of Jewish Genealogy. Gary created the JewishGen Family Finder (how many of you remember getting the printout every few months, long before the Internet changed everything). He and Sallyann also co-authored Where Once We Walked, and Gary is co-creator of the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex system. A former president of IAJGS, Gary is an author, lecturer and researcher. Sallyann Amdur Sack-Pikus co-founded the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy. She and Gary co-founded AVOTAYNU, and she participated, along with Gary, in the founding of AJGS (which became IAJGS). She was founding president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington. She has chaired or co-chaired seven of the annual conferences on Jewish genealogy, authored seven books of use to genealogists and has consulted on numerous projects. And she is a happily retired clinical psychologist. August 22 at 10:00 AM (Pacific time zone)
Direct from Jerusalem! Serafima Velkovich: Names and other genealogical sources at Yad Vashem 
Over 4.8 million of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices are commemorated in Yad Vashem's online Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names. The lecture will highlight new features and materials, as well as "tips" on utilizing the database to the fullest. It will also include guidance on the use of other Yad Vashem sources online that are relevant for genealogists.
Serafima Velkovich has been working at Yad Vashem for 16 years. She is a PhD Candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A researcher in the Reference and Information Department of the Yad Vashem Archives division, Velkovich was closely involved in the work on names material in Yad Vashem`s databases. She lectures on the use of Yad Vashem resources for genealogical and other research to various groups, as well as to visiting genealogists and organizations who make use of genealogical tools for their research. She participates in the international conferences and films on the Holocaust topics. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: September 19 at 10:00 AM (Pacific time zone)
Greg Nelson: Procuring Eastern European records for the Family History Library 
FamilySearch microfilm and digital cameras have been filming continuously in Central and Eastern Europe since their initial agreement with Hungary in 1959. Since then, all but 3 countries in East Europe have had camera–capture projects to capture images of records that assist genealogists from around the world. Today there are nearly 30 digital cameras preserving records in archives in the area. These projects include a large number of Jewish records, especially those found in archives in the area of the Pale of Settlement. This presentation will give you an idea of where records have been digitized, what records have been digitized, how to access the records and indexes, and where FamilySearch and our partners are strategically planning to capture additional records in the next 10 years. It will also show you tips and tricks on FamilySearch on how best to access the images and searchable records as well as add your own information to the family tree.
Greg Nelson is the Content Strategy specialist for East Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and various US States at FamilySearch. He holds a BA in Russian, MA in Slavic Linguistics and Literature, and a BS in Computer Science. He resides in Stansbury Park, Utah. Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: October 24 at 10:00 AM (Pacific time zone)
Arthur Kurzweil: In conversation... November 21 at 10:00 am (Pacific time zone)
Aaron Ginsburg: Curing the "I can't find my shtetl" syndrome; Examples and techniques 
Sometimes it's not easy to find a shtetl using the JewishGen Communities Database (formerly known as the Shtetl Finder) on jewishgen.org. Either your shtetl is not listed, there are too many hits, or not enough information is available. This presentation will discuss Shtetl Finder and demonstrate alternate approaches, using examples. Techniques will include networking, detailed family histories, immigration and naturalization, military records, JewishGen records, Yad Vashem, and how to find and use detailed online maps for Poland and Austria-Hungary. Having found the shtetl, the examples will show how that may lead to more information. The talk will include slides showing the steps in solved.
Aaron Ginsburg was born in Newport, Rhode Island. His research into his family led to the creation of a non-profit organization, The Friends of Jewish Dokshitsy, to help local officials in Belarus restore a Jewish cemetery. Aaron has traveled frequently to Belarus and Ukraine and he has helped several families reunite after 50-100 years. His motto is, “Genealogy can be fun…if you are patient." Register in advance for the virtual meeting by clicking this link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcscu6grj4uHdYSAuAKLID_FTUKeczCnn3y |
Stuff for Miriam Weiner's "archive" pageThis excellent writeup of the new RoutesToRoots features appeared in the 12/20/2020 edition of "Nu? What's Nu?", The E-zine of Jewish Genealogy from Avotaynu (www.avotaynu.com/nu.htm).
[Included by permission. Thank you Gary Mokotoff!] Major Additions to the Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation Website
Miriam Weiner is one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish genealogy. In her 25+ years of research for her clients, she has made more than 100 trips to the countries of Eastern Europe, including: Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Very early in her career she went to countries in the then Soviet Union and Poland to cajole archivists into giving her a listing of all their Jewish holdings. Acquisition of this information formed for the basis of Weiner’s two books, and later was the genesis of “The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation (RTRF). She published this information at the Foundation’s website http://rtrfoundation.org as a searchable database. It is the most complete index to the Jewish record holdings in the archives of Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine. It shows the type of document, available years, which archive has the collection and the archive file numbers. Whenever Weiner went to a city to do research for a client or take photos for her books and website, she would acquire copies of artifacts associated with the city or region. This might be a local telephone book, town map, name lists from the local Jewish community and other similar material. In visiting archives through this region, Weiner acquired various document copies including city directories, Jewish vital records, indexes (birth, death, marriage, divorce records), family lists and census records (revizskie skazki), voter and tax lists, immigration documents, Holocaust material, property and notary records, army/recruit lists, police files and pogrom documents, school records and occupation lists, local government and hospital records. Also, she acquired numerous archive inventories as well as books published by the archives with lists of holdings. Now she is in the process of placing much of this information on the RTRF site searchable by surname. New Surname Database for towns in Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine. The source is more than 200 collections with a total of more than 300 collections online once the project is completed. There are currently more than 1M names online with an anticipated 3M when the project is completed. Maps. More than 80 town and regional maps located in Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Ukraine (www.rtrfoundation.org/maps.shtml)can be searched on the website. This is in addition to 75 Joint Operation Graphic Maps (JOG) maps of Eastern Europe created by the U.S. Army Map Service. Note: The JOG maps are being scanned now and should be accessible on the RTRF website in the next 4–6 weeks. Ukraine Telephone Directories. A collection of 75 telephone directories from primarily small/medium-sized towns in Ukraine which Weiner has donated to the U.S. Library of Congress (LOC). These books are now searchable by surname via OCR at the RTRF website and also at Logan Kleinwaks’ website at www.genealogyindexer.org. You can click on the search results to see the actual page of the telephone book from the LOC website. Of the 25 or so business directories, the following 14 are now searchable by surname via OCR on the RTRF website, with more being added continually. Seven of the 14 are in Russian/Cyrillic and appear via the OCR search. Business Directories & Telephone Books
Image Database. There is a new drop-down menu for images, accessible from the RTRF website Home Page. Currently, there are 2,215 images from 358 towns in six countries, and Weiner plans to add more as soon as possible. (www.rtrfoundation.org/imagesearch.php). Collection Descriptions are an important part of the new surname databases. Each collection links to a 1–10 page narrative about the origin or history of acquiring the collection, numerous photographs and/or antique postcards views of the relevant towns, and links at the end of each entry leading to lesser-known sources of information about the town. Visit the RTRF site and browse the collections. Index to Kyiv Birth Records 1920–1936 Now Online Alex Krakovsky reports that Anton Zemanek as created an Excel spreadsheet that is an index to Kyiv, Ukraine, birth records from 1920–1936. There are nearly 180,000 entries. The index is in Ukrainian and appears to be alphabetical by year. The columns are labeled Full Name, Date of Birth, Archive details of SAC and Year of Birth Registration The index can be found at https://tinyurl.com/KievBirthIndex19201936. |